Ho Chi Minh city whale worshipping festival

2010-09-15 (GMT + 7)

Fishermen in Ho Chi Minh city's (HCMC) Can Gio District will celebrate the traditional whale worshipping festival for four days from September 21 to 24 (from the 14th to 17th of the eighth lunar month) in Can Thanh Commune.

The festival aims to preserve traditional culture and promote tourism in the Mekong delta district of Ho Chi Minh city (HCMC).The Can Gio authorities invite tourists to come and enjoy cultural and sports activities including the ceremony at sea to worship the whale, releasing flower lanterns, folk games (catching ducks, roping crabs, casting nets and playing football on stilts), the HCMC Beach Volleyball Tournament and the district’s Petanque Open Tournament.Other activities at the festival include student mini football championships, performances of traditional martial arts, flying kites, lantern making contest, displays about Sac Forest, a specialty food market and a fair selling local souvenirs and specialties.The organizing committee will increase the number of ferries and buses for visitors to the festival while 20 hotels, motels and restaurants are preparing for the extra numbers at the event.The whale worshipping festival is one of the most popular cultural events in Vietnam that takes place in fishing villages from the central coastal province of Quang Binh to the South. To fishermen this festival carries a lot of meaning as they believe that whales are their sacred guardians that protect them from dangers at sea.The whale worshipping festival is organized by the Can Gio People’s Committee, the HCMC People’s Committee and the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.